Key Studies
What was the aim of Loftus and Palmer (1974)?
To investigate whether post-event information would modify participants’ memory of an event.
What is memory?
the means by which we draw on our past experiences in order to use this information in the present
or
the term given to the structures and processes involved in the storage and (subsequent) retrieval of information
What statement of Barlett did Loftus support?
Loftus supports Bartlett’s idea of memory as reconstructive.
False
Describe
Give a detailed account.
What is a study that can be used to counter argue the claim that memory is highly unreliable as suggested by Loftus and Palmer?
Yullie and Cutshall
Define reconstructive memory.
Reconstructive memory suggests that we consciously rebuild our memories every time we try to remember something.
What is post event information and what forms can it take?
Any information that you are exposed to after you have witnessed something, this information can come in the form of television, social media reports or from listening to other people tell their stories.
"Every time you remember something, you must rebuild your memory of the past". This defines the multistore memory model.
False, it defines reconstructive memory.
Explain
Give a detailed account including reasons and causes.
What was the procedure for Loftus and Palmer (1974)?
Lab experiment (bonus 20 points if this was mentioned)
Participants watched ‘crash’ scene and then responded to series of questions including one critical leading question where participants were asked ‘about how fast were the cars going when they (contacted, bumped, hit, collided, smashed) with each other.
What is a constructive cognitive process?
the retrieval of memories in which memories are altered, revised, or influenced by newer info or simply, the memories built from how the memory is cognitively processed.
What are leading questions?
Questions which by content suggest to a witness which answer is most desired.
Also acceptable: questions that are suggestive in some way.
Previous research has demonstrated that people’s memory for details after a car accident is inaccurate. True or False?
True
Evaluate
Make an appraisal by weighing up the strengths and limitations.
What were the results of Loftus and Prickell (1995)?
About 25% of the participants “recalled” the false memory. BUT, they were also less confident and wrote less about it than the other memories.
Define memory traces.
brief fragments of memory rather than an entire, complete record.
A witness is shown a photo lineup of 10 men, and asked to identify which man stole her wallet. What kind of question is this, and why?
(a) Leading question, because it assumes that her wallet was stolen
(b) Forced choice question, because it assumes that her wallet was stolen
(c) Leading question, because it assumes one of the 10 men is the actual criminal
(d) Forced choice question, because it assumes that one of the 10 men is the actual criminal
D
When hearing a list of words like bed, snore, drowsy, and snooze, many people also (falsely) recall hearing the word sleep. This is an example of reconstructive memory. True or False?
False, it is schema theory.
Discuss
Offer a considered and balanced review that includes a range of arguments, factors or hypotheses. Opinions or conclusions should be presented clearly and supported by appropriate evidence.
What was the aim of Bahrick et al.?
To investigate the reliability of autobiographical memory over time - specifically the names and faces of the people that went to school with us.
What is the misinformation effect?
Refers to the tendency of post event information to interfere with the memory of the actual event.
What is the meaning of a study being cross-sectional in nature and what specific study was cross-sectional in nature (for reliability of memory)?
A cross-sectional study means that the study looked at different levels of a variable at the same time, rather than over a period of time.
Bahrick's Yearbook study was cross-sectional in nature.
Some have criticized Loftus and Palmer's study for having low ecological validity because participants knew they were in an experiment, so motivation to be accurate was low. True or False?
True
To what extent
Consider the merits or otherwise of an argument or concept. Opinions and conclusions should be presented clearly and supported with appropriate evidence and sound argument.